April 27, 2013

St Barthelemy's Temple - The Sheol Unfold

It seems adding elements of Black Metal to your music just makes it better. Like peanut butter to chocolate or adding bacon to, well anything really. France’s St. Barthelemy’s Temple add Black Metal to their DOOM. A growing sub-genre that has it’s share of great bands. With The Sheol Unfold people may be adding their name to that list.

Primitive and raw. These are the first things that come to mind as the music starts. But this is not achieved from a production trick. But rather the overall mood of the music. Guitars have a buzzing grittiness while the bass keeps things low and slow. The drums lumber along with a sludgy feel with only cymbal splashes to add any light to the otherwise dark proceedings. Vocal are blackened screeches. Which is fitting for an album that references Sheol (Jewish hell) and Thaumiel (an evil force in Jewish mysticism). Topics rarely, if ever, used in metal.

With only three song St. Barthelemy’s Temple have laid a foundation that they can build from. Their ability to write Blackened DOOM that is not only dark and heavy but also, dare I say, catchy is something that sets this band apart. The Sheol Unfold proves there is still some uncharted territory out there to harvest.